Keep ActiveWestminster Co-ordinator

Thank you for your interest in the post of Co-ordinator with the Keep Active project at Bishop Creighton House.

Please find enclosed:

  • Background information on Keep Active Westminster and Bishop Creighton House
  • Job Description & Person Specification
  • Application form
  • Monitoring form

Our 2013-14 Annual Review is downloadable from the website:

If you have any queries about the job, please feel free to contact me on: 020 7385 9689 / .

If you would like to apply for the post, please send your completed application to us by 5pm, Friday 2nd October.Late applications will not be accepted.

If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion unfortunately your application has not been successful.

Interviews will be held at BCH on Friday 9th October.

Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

With best wishes

Joy Houghton-Brown

Keep Active Manager

Background information

The Keep Active project

Keep ActiveWestminster is a pilot partnership project with Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust and is being funded for 3 years by Public Health. Keep Active will provide volunteers for 9 weekly sessions to older people who have lost some function due to illness, stroke or fall. Volunteers help older people to stay mobile and engage with their local community. All referrals will come from the Westminster Community Rehabilitation Service (CRS) for clients being discharged who could benefit further from volunteers giving them motivational companionship and support. This project is an expansion from our Keep Active Hammersmith & Fulham Service which was shortlisted for the Guardian Charity Awards 2014.

Bishop Creighton House

Keep Active is part of Bishop Creighton House. BCH is a multi-purpose charity which was founded in 1908. We run a community resource centre and a number of social support and welfare services mostlyfor people living in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. We specialise in meeting the needs of people who are older, disabled, vulnerable or socially excluded, and aim to support their independence, health and well being, and to help them maximise their potential.

BCH has16 staff, over 150 volunteers, and a Board of 8 Trustees.

BCH provide:

  • A community centre
  • Care & Repair – a Home Improvement Agency for older and disabled people
  • Safer Homes - a handyman service carrying out home safety and security jobs for older, disabled people and families with young children
  • Homeline – a volunteer-run long term befriending service for isolated older people including daily telephone-befriending, home-visiting, social events and casework support
  • Mentoring Project –mentoring for learning disabled people
  • Keep Active Hammersmith & Fulham – short term volunteer support for mobility improvement in partnership with H&F Community Rehabilitation Service
  • H&F Connect – an over 55 short term befriending project in partnership with the Paths team at H&F Council
  • Office space for voluntary & community groups

Further details about our work can be found on our website:

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Keep Active WestminsterCoordinator

Responsible to: Manager, Older People’s Services

Based at: Bishop Creighton House Settlement

Hours: 35 per week (may be worked flexibly by negotiation; to include

occasional evening or weekend work)

Salary: NJC SCP 28-30, £27,877 - £29,698 pa inc ILW

Contract:Permanent

Because of the nature of our client group, a satisfactory enhanced level Disclosure & Barring Servicecheck is required for this post.

JOB PURPOSE

To develop a partnership with the Community Rehabilitation Service in Westminster,to encourage knowledge of the project and enable referrals into Keep Active. To co-ordinate and deliver a new volunteer programme that supports isolated older people with indoor and outdoor exercise following a fall or illness. To recruit, train and support volunteers to enable older people referred from Community Rehabilitation Services to regain mobility and independence.

MAIN DUTIES

  1. PARTNERSHIP WITH WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY REHABILITATION SERVICE
  • Work closely with the Community Rehabilitation Service regarding referrals to the scheme
  • Monitor referrals to the scheme to ensure they are appropriate, within target and manageable in accordance with the project work-plan
  • Work with the Community Rehab Service to confirm that new referrals have been risk assessed
  • Co-ordinate communications between the Community Rehab staff and volunteers at the start and end of the 9 week programme for each member
  • Liaise with Keep Active clients to ensure they are comfortable with their volunteer during the programme
  • Work with the volunteers and clients to identify additional problems clients may have e.g. unmet social care needs, and signpost appropriately
  • Maintain an accurate database with scheme member and volunteer information, to inform project development and report to funders

2.VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT, TRAINING AND SUPPORT

  • Ensure that Keep Active has sufficient trained and committed volunteers to provide excellent services for isolated older people
  • Promote volunteering to increase the volunteer base where needed (by producing written PR materials, advertising, liaison with the local media, attendance at appropriate events etc)
  • Conduct volunteer interviews and selection, including following up references and arranging for Disclosure & Barring Servicechecks to be carried out
  • Deliver Keep Active volunteer induction sessions in partnership with the Community Rehabilitation Service and BCH induction sessions in partnership with Older People’s Services.
  • Develop an ongoing training programme for existing volunteers in partnership with the Older People’s Services and other professionals e.g. in mental health awareness, home safety, safeguarding of vulnerable adults
  • Ensure that volunteers are suitably matched and check that they are comfortable and confident
  • Ensure good support and supervision is available to all volunteers, individually and in groups, both face-to-face and through regular phone / email contact
  • Monitor volunteer-client relationships
  • Manage volunteers expenses within budget
  • Provide references for volunteers
  • Work with BCH staff to arrange social events in recognition of volunteers’ contributions
  • Arrange exit interviews with outgoing volunteers
  • Risk-assess volunteer tasks, and ensure that action is taken to reduce risks where necessary
  1. CLIENT EMPOWERMENT & INVOLVEMENT
  • Work in an empowering way, to capacity-build both clients and volunteers and increase their self-esteem
  • Promote and facilitate volunteer and client involvement in the day-to-day running of services and decisions about service development and delivery
  1. MONITORING & EVALUATION
  • Work with the Older People’s Services manager and Community Rehab Service staff to conduct ongoing evaluation of the service. This includes using a benchmarking questionnaire and an exit questionnaire for each client’s 9 week programme.
  • Telling client stories and writing case studies using photos together with volunteer and client feedback
  • Recording professional feedback whenever received
  • Recording client progress 9 and 12 months after discharge from Keep Active
  • Log and analyse monitoring data and produce reports which demonstrate the outcomes and outputs for volunteers and clients involved in the project

5.PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

  • Work with other BCH staff and partner organisations, to respond to relevant local and national research and policy, and produce proposals to develop and improve services; this will include identifying unmet need in the community, and working creatively to develop new project ideas where appropriate

6.PARTNERSHIP WORKING

  • Develop and maintain good collaborative links with professionals from other Westminster organisations, especially within the voluntary sector where you could refer clients on to long term befriending as necessary.
  • Work with volunteers, clients, and other older residents and partner organisations in an empowering way to raise awareness of the issues and solutions around older people’s isolation and poor health and mobility.

7.DIVERSITY & EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

  • Ensure that regular communications –both verbal and written – with volunteers and clients are in an accessible and appropriate format
  • Work with older borough residents, clients, volunteers, other BCH staff and partner organisations, to ensure the service is equally promoted and accessible to all
  • Undertake ongoing evaluation of the service with other staff, to review and improve accessibility of the service

8. GENERAL

  • Maintain accurate and appropriate records of all work undertaken with volunteers and clients, and produce reports as needed
  • Provide occasional cover during annual leave or staff sickness for other BCH staffespecially within Older People’s Services.
  • Work collaboratively with colleagues across BCH: taking part in team meetings, organisational development, and being involved in BCH-wide events
  • Work within BCH’s policies and procedures, and support the Older People’s Services manager to review and develop service-specific policies and procedures as needed
  • Attend regular supervision and be willing to undertake training and professional development as needed
  • Work within agreed budgets
  • Maintain an awareness of legal and policy changes and good practice, as they affect older people and volunteers
  • Manage additional staff if needed on the project.

These are the normal duties which the employer will require from you at the date of your employment. However, it is necessary for all staff to be flexible in this respect and all employees may be required from time to time to perform other duties which are required for the efficient running of the organisation.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

This lists the skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities needed for this post. Please make sure that you refer to these in your supporting statement.

E = essential

D = desirable

EA minimum of one year’s recent experience of working with volunteers (recruiting, training and managing)

EKnowledge of the issues affecting older people living alone in the community

EExcellent verbal, written and IT skills, including good record-keeping and the ability to be self-supporting

E The ability to communicate effectively with people from a range of different backgrounds

E The ability to work well as part of a team, whilst also being able to work alone and on your own initiative

EThe ability to demonstrate patience, tact and empathy

EThe ability to manage a complex workload, sometimes under pressure, and to prioritise effectively

EAn understanding of diversity and equality issues and a commitment to working in a person-centred way

E The physical capacity to carry out home visits to clientsliving in Westminster

EAn understanding of risk assessment procedures and health & safety issues as they affect clients, volunteers and staff

DExperience of project evaluation, monitoring and reporting

D Experience of rehabilitation services

DKnowledge of Westminster City

Bishop Creighton House Settlement

Application Form

Keep Active Westminster Coordinator

Please write clearly using black ink, or type.

1. Personal Details

Forenames

Surname

Address

Tel.Work

Home

Mobile

e-mail

National Insurance

or Work Permit Number

(or please attach similar proof of permission to work in the UK)

2. Education

Please list your educational and/or professional qualifications, giving dates, institutions, and whether full or part-time.

3. Relevant training undertaken

Please give dates, length of training and brief details.

4. Employment

Please list any previous employment, starting with your current or most recent employer, giving name of employer, dates of employment, job title, a summary of your duties and your reason for leaving.

EmployerDatesJob TitleDuties & reason for leaving

(Please continue on a separate sheet if needed)

5. Statement in support of your application

Please attach a typed statement (no more than 2 sides of A4) explaining how you meet all the criteria set out in the person specification and through this what qualities, skills and experience you bring to this post. Please note CVs are not accepted.

6. Referees

Please give the names and addresses of two referees. One should be your present or most recent employer.

Name: / Name:
Position Held: / Position Held:
Organisation: / Organisation:
Address: / Address:
Tel no.: / Tel no.:

7. Period of notice required (when would you be able to start)?

I confirm that the information given here is true and accurate.

I understand that Bishop Creighton House will hold the information contained in this form for one year, and that data supplied will be processed in line with the Data Protection Act.

SignedDate

Please return your application, marked ‘Confidential’, to:

Joy Houghton-Brown Keep ActiveManager, Bishop Creighton House Settlement, 378 Lillie Road, London SW6 7PH, or email

Closing date:Friday 2nd October 2015 5pm

Interviews: Friday 9th October 2015

Preferred job start date:Monday 1st November 2015

Monitoring Form

BCH is committed to developing equality in the workplace and in the services we provide. Please take the time to complete this form and return it to us, but please do not put your name on it. All information will remain confidential, and be kept in accordance with Data Protection regulations.Thank you for your help.

Date

Gender Female Male 

Age16-1920-25 26-50 51-60 

61-7475+ 

Ethnic/Cultural Background

WhiteBritishIrishEuropean 

Other White ______

MixedEthnicitydetails

BlackBritishCaribbean African 

Other Black

Near or Middle Eastern details______

AsianAsian BritishIndian Pakistani  Bangladeshi 

Chinese British  Chinese 

Other Asian

Other

Disability

Do you consider yourself to have a;

Learning disability  Physical disability 

Sensory disability Mental Health need 

Other information______

Where did you hear about Bishop Creighton House?

Please use the space overpage to add any information or to comment on this form